Bodybuilding Periodization: Bodybuilding Workouts without Bodybuilding Pain

Periodization is a very popular word in the bodybuilding and powerlifting worlds. It seems that every day we see an article promising us great gains through the use of this or that periodization scheme. We have old school linear periodization. We have new school Russian waved periodization, for example, by Boris Sheiko or Pavel Tsatsouline. We have Westside Barbell?s conjugate periodization. Well, get ready, because now we have yet another form of periodization: Pain Periodization.

What is Pain Periodization? Is it some new hardcore bodybuilding method? Is it the latest fitness fad? Is it some leftover practice of the Marquis de Sade? Is it a new reality game show? That would be three nos. It is simply a common sense way to schedule productive bodybuilding exercises that might otherwise be discarded. Read on and I?ll explain, but first let me illustrate the problem we are trying to overcome.

We all know that there are exercises that we both love and hate. For example, skullcrushers are one of the best triceps moves for getting those huge guns. Unfortunately, some of us also get nasty elbow pain after a few weeks of skullcrushers. It?s the same with presses behind the neck. Some of us swear by them for their ability to build cannonball delts. Some of us swear at them for their ability to produce rotator cuff pain. We all love the bench press, but not all of us can handle the shoulder strain the bench press can produce. Luckily, there is an answer. It?s called Pain Periodization. Let?s break it down.

Pain Periodization is a method of planning our workouts so that we can use our favorite exercises without letting the pain get out of hand. We use the exercise for a certain preplanned period, and then move on to something else. As James Brown would say, we ?hit it and quit it.? Let?s look at some examples.

For shoulder size, we might like the behind neck press. But after four or five weeks, the rotator cuff is so sore that it takes a month to heal. We have forsaken the behind neck press altogether and instead used machine shoulder presses. We?d like to do behind neck presses, but we can?t afford the pain and possible down time. By using Pain Periodization, we can have our cake and eat it too. We can start using our favorite shoulder exercise again and still retain shoulder health.

Here is an example 8-week workout plan using Pain Periodization.

? Weeks 1-2 Behind Neck Press

? Weeks 3-4 Machine Press

? Weeks 5-6 Behind Neck Press

? Week 7 Machine Press

? Week 8 Prehab/Rehab

In the above example, we used the behind neck press for 2 weeks only, then went to the machine press which we find easier on the rotator cuff. We don?t just keep using the behind neck press until our shoulder health is wrecked. In effect, we ?hit it and quit it.? In the second 4-week period, again we use the behind neck press for 2 weeks followed by the machine press. Also shown is an optional week of rehab or ?prehab? during which time we drop all heavy overhead pressing and focus on rotator cuff work and stretching. This one-week rehab phase can work wonders for our shoulder health.

Let?s look at another example using the bench press. We all want that big bench press, but we don?t want a blown rotator cuff. We can use Pain Periodization to allow us to work the bench press without wrecking our delts. Like this:

? Weeks 1-3 Bench Press

? Week 4 Machine Bench

? Weeks 4-6 Bench Press

? Week 7 Machine Bench

? Week 8 Rehab/Prehab

Are we getting the picture here? In both of these examples, the ?painful? exercise was alternated with an exercise that we find to be easier on the body. The examples were slightly different, but the main idea is the same. The pain producing exercises were used only for a short period, and then we switched exercises before the pain had a chance to accumulate. In essence, we ?hit it and quit it.? Try Pain Periodization. It may be just what you need to resurrect some of those forsaken exercises.

Randy Williams is an online personal trainer with 24 years of weightlifting experience. Please visit my blog at http://massactionheroes.com/ and sign up for my free newsletter and receive a 2-part free report on bread and butter bodybuilding set methods. Inquire about online personal training by emailing me at Randy@massactionheroes.com